Jurassic Fight Club

Jurassic Fight Club
Format	Documentary
Narrated by	Erik Thompson
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12
Production
Running time	45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	History
Original run	July 29, 2008 (2008-07-29) – October 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)
External links
Website

Jurassic Fight Club is a paleontology-based television series on History which premiered in the USA in July 2008.

Summary

Scientists study the battles of prehistoric creatures, such as dinosaurs, before they went extinct. Each episode features a forensic-styled breakdown of a prehistoric battle. Based on fossil evidence and paleontologist analysis, a CGI rendering of the battle, based on the evidence and the imagination of George Blasing (the show's host) is the final act of each episode.

Featured animals

• Albertosaurus
• Allosaurus
• Arctodus
• American Lion
• Brygmophyseter
• Camarasaurus
• Ceratosaurus
• Deinonychus
• Dromaeosaurus
• Edmontosaurus
• Gastonia
• Majungasaurus
• Megalodon
• Montanazhdarcho
• Nanotyrannus
• Pachyrhinosaurus
• Stegosaurus
• Steppe Bison
• Tenontosaurus
• Tyrannosaurus
• Utahraptor

Episodes

Episode	Synopsis	Outcome
Episode 1 Cannibal Dinosaur	Cannibalism is featured during the battle between a male and female Majungasaurus while the female tries to protect her offspring.	The male Majungasaurus was looking for a mate when he sees a female Majungasaurus who isn't in the mood for mating. She was surrounded by lush vegetation while the male tries a reproductive dance first but the female does not respond, and is very hostile. Confused, the male then sees that the female already has a baby, leading him to become from reproductive to aggressive, intent on killing the baby so he can mate with the female. They fight as the female rams the male but the male being larger shakes it off quickly. Then the female uses her tail to whip the male. But then the female trips on a log, leaving her out of the way as the male Majungasaurus grabs the baby, slams it against a tree and crushes it in his jaws, killing it. Realizing that she's been tricked, the female Majungasaurus rises from the bushes, charges and bites the male on the neck, causing him to drop the baby. He falls to the ground and is paralyzed. The female now eats the dead baby and then has the male as a main course (while he is still alive).
Episode 2 T-Rex Hunter	The history of a conflict made by a Tyrannosaurus family against a Nanotyrannus begins.	Tyrannosaurus parents go on a hunt and leave their young unattended. They use scent marks to keep intruders out of the nesting area. But a Nanotyrannus uses the scent marks as a homing device and rushes in. He then terrorizes the adults' offspring in order to eliminate the future competition (as Tyrannosaurus grow up to be more than three times the size of Nanotyrannus). After a set of mock lunges, he grabs one of the youngsters and throws it on the forest floor. He goes after the second who cries for help but then the other juvenile Tyrannosaurus bites Nanotyrannus on the leg. The enemy grabs the juvenile on the neck and kills it quickly by grabbing it by its neck, shaking it, and stomping on its head. He then attacks the remaining juvenile, slamming it to the ground where it cries for help again. But before Nanotyrannus can kill the juvenile, the mother Tyrannosaurus arrives from her hunt, and puts herself between her offspring and the Nanotryannus. Instead of just turning and running, Nanotyrannus attempts to run past the larger, fiercer mother and use his elongated snout to grab the other juvenile, shake it around, kill it and retreat. Unfortunately, the mother is fast enough to catch the attacker and knocks him off with a headbutt. The Nanotyrannus tries again, but Tyrannosaurus bites his neck. She then grabs Nanotyrannus in her jaws and crushes him. Then she drops the body on the ground, tears the corpse apart and uses him as a message to other Nanotyrannus around before she can come to her remaining offspring.
Episode 3 Gang Killers	A gruesome conflict between a pack of Deinonychus and a Tenontosaurus ensues.	The Deinonychus pack manages to separate a weak Tenontosaurus individual from a herd, and attack it, but one is killed. The Deinonychus regroup and resort to hitting-and-running, but the Tenontosaurus skin is too thick for this technique to do much damage. The pack then launch a full-fledged attack, only for one pack member to be crushed under the herbivore's massive weight and the pack is forced to retreat. However, the herbivore is heavily wounded, and goes into a thicket of brush to hide. A thunderstorm brews and the Deinonychus attack the Tenontosaurus in the darkness of the storm. Although unable to see, the Tenontosaurus manages to kill four more pack members, slamming one against a rock, in desperation before dying itself. Only three Deinonychus survive, and a brief face-biting pecking order ensues before the smaller pack begins to eat.
Episode 4 Bloodiest Battle	The bones of an Allosaurus pack, a Stegosaurus family, a Ceratosaurus and a Camarasaurus leads to the story of an all-out battle between these animals.	When a female Stegosaurus and her young get stuck in mud on a dried lake, a Ceratosaurus approaches, and starts to tear into the body of the younger one, eating it alive. The trapped mother Stegosaurus is helpless and unable to defend her offspring. The Ceratosaurus is also about to finish off the mother as well, but three nearby Allosaurus are attracted by the smell of blood. They also pick up the scent of their rival, but not only is each of the Allosaurus larger than the Ceratosaurus, they also outnumber it. With only one enemy to contend with, one of the Allosaurus break off from the rest of its group in order to flank it, while the other two move toward the Ceratosaurus to face it head-on to challenge it and make it move back and more out in the open for an ambush. This ploy proves to be a successful one, as the Ceratosaurus is indeed pushed back, and even though the outnumbered rival still attempts to defend its kill from the two Allosaurus by baring its massive teeth at them in warning, the third Allosaurus comes out from hiding, charging into the unsuspecting enemy at full force. The stunned Ceratosaurus is knocked to the ground and the Allosaurus then quickly kills the downed rival. The three Allosaurus then proceed to attack the Stegosaurus, but since one of the Allosaurus had inadvertently shifted the weight of the Stegosaurus mother in the mud by standing on top of it during their confrontation with the Ceratosaurus, it is now able to free her spiked tail from the mud and manages to kill one of the Allosaurus with a direct hit to the back of the head, around the temple. Just then, three Camarasaurus appear and the alpha male of the group comes down to the water's edge, but gets his front legs stuck in the mud. The two remaining Allosaurus then leave the Stegosaurus to attack the Camarasaurus. Two of the Camarasaurus retreat from the area, leaving the trapped alpha male behind. Though the Camarasaurus suffers numerous cuts from the ensuing attack by the two Allosaurus, who use their large claws to slash at the sauropod's flanks as they pounce on it, the Camarasaurus uses his tail to kill one of the attacking Allosaurus, shifting its weight and freeing his front legs in the process. The final Allosaurus charges, but this drives it right under the foot of the sauropod, which crushes its head, killing the final Allosaurus. However, the Camarasaurus and as the adult Stegosaurus eventually die from starvation and dehydration due to being stuck. (The real victors were the 2 Ceratosaurus in the background, who probably fed on the dead animals for weeks.)
Episode 5 Deep Sea Killers	The struggle of two apex predators, Megalodon and Brygmophyseter fight for the supremacy in the coastal waters of Japan.	In the dark Pacific waters at the North of Japan, Megalodon, a super-predator, is on the hunt. It detects the presence of a large whale through its advanced sensory systems. The potential prey is a large toothed whale, Brygmophyseter (also termed as the biting sperm whale), which has ventured away from its pod. The Megalodon ambushes the Brygmophyseter and tears through its propulsion systems (i.e. pectoral fins and tail). The badly wounded Brygmophyseter is unable to swim and it sends out a distress call to its Pod for help, which is also engaged in hunting activities nearby. A large bull Brygmophyseter picks up the distress signal and leads the pod to the point of its origination. When the pod members approach their wounded companion, it becomes clear that the Megalodon is the culprit. The enraged pod commences its attack on the Megalodon in an attempt to drive it away from the wounded member. Knowing that it would be very risky to take on all the whales simultaneously, the giant shark tries to escape by going deeper into the water. However, the whales have a secret weapon. They narrow their sonar beams on the shark, disrupting its sensory organs in the process, and the shark gets stunned for a brief period. Taking advantage of the vulnerable position of the adversary. The whales ram the stunned shark and bite it repeatedly, inflicting as much injuries as possible in the process. However, the giant shark is very powerful and cannot be easily subdued. It manages to slip away after the effect of sonar wears off, and the whales stop chasing it further because they cannot afford to stay at great depths for long periods due to being surface breathers. The shark is now at a considerable distance from the wounded companion. The Brygmophyseter whales try to help their wounded companion, but it is already too late. They take a last look at their injured companion, sing a death song, and leave. As the path is cleared, the determined Megalodon comes back to enjoy its meal (the dead whale).
Episode 6 Hunter Becomes Hunted	Paleontologists show the battle between an Allosaurus defending its territory, and an intruding pair of Ceratosaurus fighting for it.	Harsh conditions force a mated pair of Ceratosaurus to venture into new territory to find suitable hunting grounds. The male Ceratosaurus chases its prey, leading it to the hidden female for an ambush. This territory however, belongs to an Allosaurus, who quietly stalks the intruding female. The Allosaurus strikes, ambushing the female Ceratosaurus, breaking her neck in its jaws, killing her instantly. Unaware that she is dead, her mate continues with the hunt, but he finds the bellowing Allosaurus instead. The Allosaurus roars out in warning to the male Ceratosaurus to defend its territory. The smaller hunter stands its ground, so the enemy charges forward, snapping its jaws inches from the intruder's face. The Ceratosaurus, outclassed by its larger enemy, runs into the trees and manages to dodge the larger rival's attacks and both of them make several lunges at each other, with none of them connecting. Eventually the Ceratosaurus manages to use the claws on its forelimbs to slash the face of the surprised Allosaurus, temporally disorienting it, jumps onto its enemy's back and sinks its massive teeth into the back of his rival's neck. But the Allosaurus manages to shake the Ceratosaurus off, and bites deep into its shoulder before it can be back up. The Ceratosaurus struggles, but is unable to free itself from the jaws of the Allosaurus, who breaks his spine. The Allosaurus then tosses the Ceratosaurus into a tree. Once the mortally wounded intruder is on the ground, the Allosaurus uses the claws on its feet to cut its body open. Towering over its fallen rival, the triumphant Allosaurus roars in victory as it regains its territory.
Episode 7 Biggest Killers	Scientists compare Allosaurus, Utahraptor, Majungasaurus, Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus to find out which was the most dangerous.	None since the episode centered around the predators' strengths. It is implied, however, that the largest killer was Mother Nature herself, for each of the predators featured went extinct when the climate changed.
Episode 8 Raptor's Last Stand	Scientists show the battle between a Utahraptor and a Gastonia during a drought.	A Gastonia searches for water in a drought of the middle Cretaceous. Pterosaurs on its back act as lookouts. But Utahraptor is also searching for sustenance, his eyesight is just as good as the pterosaur’s. While Gastonia's vision isn't so good its sense of smell is every bit as good as the Utahraptor's. Gastonia's pterosaurs and sense of smell pick up the approaching raptor. Gastonia's sentries fly off at the sight of the raptor. As the Gastonia had been alerted to the Utahraptor's presence, the raptor's hope of ambushing it is crushed. Gastonia shifts sideways towards the attacker, but Utahraptor jumps over the Gastonia, lands on the other side, and slashes the Gastonia's soft under belly with his killing claw. The raptor jumps again but the Gastonia didn't fall for the same trick again and shifts sideways and cuts the Utahraptor. The raptor falls down and the Gastonia continues his search for water. But then the raptor gets up and bites the Gastonia on the front leg. The Gastonia screams in pain and tries to shift sideways on only three legs. After that it's the moment they were both waiting for, the raptor only has to make the same wound on the back leg, but the Gastonia manages to catch the Utahraptor's leg in its pair of prehistoric scissors (on its tail), delivering an excruciating injury. The raptor manages to get free and moves back, but Gastonia then delivers a number of repeated cuts to the side of the raptor, after which it limps backwards a couple of steps, then falls down and the Gastonia digs more in search of water. But despite the carnage neither Utahraptor or Gastonia died in battle-they were killed by the ongoing drought at the time. Therefore, there was no clear victor.
Episode 9 Ice Age Monsters	The Arctodus and American lion face-off in the Ice Age of North America.	An Arctodus and American lion fight over a kill made by the lion. The fight is not only for food, but to eliminate competition for already scarce resources, due to warming climate conditions. The Arctodus rears to scare off the lion, only to be knocked down. The lion locks its jaws on its enemy's back as the bear gets to its feet, but the Arctodus' fur and fat are too thick for the lion to cause enough damage. After shaking off the feline, the Arctodus retaliates by smashing its paw into the lion's skull then biting its underbelly, disabling the lion temporarily. The Arctodus starts to feed on the bison carcass, but the lion recovers and launches a surprise attack. It attempts to bite the windpipe of the Arctodus, but the bear's powerful paws hold off the lion and throw it away. After a few more rounds of battle, the lion finally manages to lock its jaws on the throat. However, the Arctodus rears up before the lion can kill it and throws the lion into the Natural Trap Cave in Wyoming, where it dies from the fall.
Episode 10 River of Death	Skeletons of a Pachyrhinosaurus herd found near a river lead scientists to discover a battle between them and a pack of Albertosaurus.	The pack of Albertosaurus charge at the herd of Pachyrhinosaurus. The herd stampedes towards a raging river bed and the predators corner the prey, although one breaks free. One of the Albertosaurus chases it into a clearing, and it attempts to kill the Pachyrhinosaurus,knocking it on its side. However the Pachyrhinosaurus gores the enemy in the leg, enraging it. The Albertosaurus then bites down on to its neck and flips the herbivore over and tears at its underbelly. Back at the river, the other Albertosaurus is backing the Pachyrhinosaurus herd into the river. In their panic, they drown and the Albertosaurus finds the carcasses further down river.
Episode 11 Raptors vs. T-Rex	An Edmontosaurus is attacked by a pack of Dromaeosaurus in a valley while facing against a Tyrannosaurus.	A lonely Edmontosaurus looks for a herd to live in but instead wanders into the territory of a pack of Dromaeosaurus. The faster, smarter and deadly carnivores attack the duck-billed dinosaur and manage to bring it down, though one or two of the pack members are killed by the herbivore in the process as well. Then a Tyrannosaurus, attracted by all the noises, comes over and steals the dead Edmontosaurus, leaving the Dromaeosaurus pack with just the tail, which it bit off to make the corpse lighter.
Episode 12 Armageddon	Scientists explain the extinction of the dinosaurs.	65 million years ago, a gigantic asteroid crashes in the coast of Yucatán, Mexico. It leaves a gigantic crater and it creates a meteor shower in the process while it also makes a cloud of deadly gas spreading throughout the land. Most of the dinosaurs (usually including Tyrannosaurus, Majungasaurus, Albertosaurus, Nanotyrannus, Dromaeosaurus, Edmontosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus) had seen the impact and they attempt to run for cover, though some of them died in the series of meteors and the clouds. Soon, the dinosaurs are now extinct as a Tyrannosaurus collapses to the ground, dead, but then, this may be the time where humans and other animals replace the dinosaurs as the dominant species of Earth itself.

Inaccuracies

• At the time of production, Majungatholus was the recognized name for the carnivorous dinosaur from Madagascar, but by the time of broadcast, that name had been determined to be a junior synonym of Majungasaurus.
• The Majungasaurus depicted in Cannibal Dinosaur showed an extremely bird-like personality, despite the depiction that more bird-like dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus did not have that personality in the documentary.
• Nanotyrannus is constantly misspelled as "Nanotyrannosaurus".
• Relatives of Utahraptor, Dromaeosaurus, and Deinonychus are known to be covered in feathers, like birds; therefore, it is likely that these three would be as well. However, the versions of these creatures shown are covered in lizard-like scales, albeit with what are feathers on the back of the neck on Utahraptor and Dromaeosaurus.
• The unidentified pterosaurs seen on the back of the Gastonia in Raptor's Last Stand were actually scaled down models of Quetzalcoatlus. However, this episode takes place in the Early Cretaceous, where azdarchid pterosaurs are unknown.
• The Pachyrhinosaurus in the series is portrayed with a rhinoceros-like horn on its head, though the fossil evidence actually leans towards the structure on its head being a large, bony lump.
• When the professionals say that Albertosaurus died out around 66 million years ago, 55 MYA is written onto the screen (all non-avian dinosaurs of the time died out 65 MYA).
• In the episode "Raptor vs T. rex," it is stated that Tyrannosaurus "stormed onto planet Earth 90 million years ago, and ruled for the next 25 million years," when in fact the oldest T. rex fossils date to 68.5 million years ago, and it became extinct along with all other dinosaurs of the time 65.5 million years ago.
• Paleontologists now suggest that young tyrannosaurs had narrow skulls and as they grew older their skulls become deep, but in the show, young Tyrannosaurus had deep skulls just like the adults. They probably did this to make it different from the Nanotyrannus.
• The young tyrannosaurs are portrayed to be featherless, though in reality juvenile T-rex would have been likely to have plumage (though at their age, it would probably be almost gone), molting later on as they get to maturity.
• The narrator states that the dermal denticles of Megalodon allowed it to taste. Denticles, however, are merely a type of scale, and are no more equipped to taste than a human's fingernails.
• Megalodon was shown to bite off the Brygmophyseter's pectoral fin, but from the next second to the end of the episode, the Brygmophyseter has both pectoral fins.
• After Megalodon rips off a huge chunk of flesh from the Brygmophyseter's tail, judging from the size of the bite, the Megalodon would have bitten off a huge chunk of flesh almost as big as its mouth, but after the camera cuts to the Megalodon, in its mouth is merely a small piece of flesh as thin as skin.
• The mother Tyrannosaurus scatters the Nanotyrannus's remains to deter predators. If anything, this would actually have the opposite effect (as the rotting meat would provide easy food for desperate carnivores).
• It is said that the pack of Dromaeosaurus attack the Edmontosaurus because it is invading their territory. However, predators usually only drive out invaders when said invaders are predators, since herbivores don't compete with carnivores for food, and could be potential prey.
• In Hunter Becomes Hunted the Ceratosaurus chases a Deinonychus, which is easily seen in super slow-motion. However, Ceratosaurus went extinct well before Deinonychus evolved (although this may have been to save them the time and money of creating a new dinosaur model).
• "Megalodon" was have said to need 2000 lbs of food a day. The show states this is the size of an elephant and shows a picture of a full grown African Elephant. An animal that weighs 8000 to 14000 lbs.
• "Megalodon" was said to be 50 ft long. The show states this is as big as a "jumbo jet". The term "jumbo jet" was first given to the 747, which is 231 ft long.
• There is no proof that t-rex used the pads on his feet to track down prey. And even if it did it's sense of smell would be far more use full because the edmontosaurus is bleeding(which would help track it down by the smell of blood) and that there are a few dead raptors(which the t-rex can smell out the dead raptors)
• In "Raptor vs T.rex" the Edmontosaurus is shown moving on two legs. In real life, hadrosaurs like Edmontosaurus walked on four legs. The only time they were up on two legs where when they were running.
• In the episode hunter becomes hunted the allosaurus surprised the ceratosaurus and bite it's neck and crushed it's neck and killed the ceratosaurus and later it bite the other ceratosaurus back and crushed it's spine but allosaurus had a weak bite that was not even better then a lion. So in real life it would swing it's top jaw down like a ax and kill hit the ceratosaurus and kill.

Trivia

• In Bloodiest Battle, although one Ceratosaurus really attends the fight, at several shots (usually of the Allosaurus pack entering the battle area), two more can be seen watching. They were probably the real victors and scavenged the area after the battle.

Host

George Blasing, also known as "Dinosaur George", is a self-taught paleontologist. He was creative consultant and host of Jurassic Fight Club. Blasing also gives talks on dinosaurs to audiences across North America. He is a guest curator at the Witte Museum, San Antonio.

Cancellation

"Turf Wars"

The Jurassic Fight Club game, Turf Wars, can be found on history.com. No purchase or download is needed. Playing as one out of six dinosaurs, you use your skills to defeat the other five. There are cheat codes that can make you invincible, access special attacks, etc. The following dinosaurs are featured in battle order with status:

Dinosaur	Offense	Defense	Speed
Female Majungasaurus	4	7	8
Male Majungasaurus	5	8	4
Tyrannosaurus	10	9	8
Stegosaurus	9	10	4
Utahraptor	10	8	6
Pachyrhinosaurus	8	8	8

See also

• The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs
• Animal Face-Off
• History Channel